The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1887-09-14
LAURENS, s. G.. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER IA, 1887


} culture, would be accepted as bona
, tlde agricultural college or agricultural
department in the sense of the law.
Tho reference to Cornell University
proves nothing in our case, and in othcl
respects is very unfortunate one fol
o." to invoke. In the first place,
Cornell University owns it's foundation
originally to the Act of Congress Of 1869
donating public lands to establish and
maiufnin agricultural and mechanical
colleges. Under this Act the State of
hcw cork got nine hundred aud ninety
thOuS'nd l99O,OGO) acres in land SCRIP.
lhlS all weut TO Cornell. $50 we sec.
thus magnificent institution has bcun re-
garded as an agricultural and mcchani
cal college from it's origin. 70 this
splendid national donation Mr.. Cornell
added five hundred thousand dollars and
over two hundred acres of land, with
buildings, for the use Of tho agricultural
department.
While the leading idea of the national
donation was to encourage the study of
agriculture and thr mechanic arta, the
idea OF Mr.. Cornell was 10 found an in
stItutIou where everything could be
taught chat any ono would be likely to
desire TO learn. To carry cut this idea
his friend and active cOwOrkCr, AuGrew
-. White, was sent abroad to ss.s,
foreign institutions of learning, ogpcs;ai.
y those splendid institutions, the Gei
mhu polytcchnlc schools. J know
whereof ! speak, because [ had occasion
tion to meet Prof. White for the first
time, and to shOw him through and
furnish HIM the documents relative to
tho organization Of one of the very best
| thpSn cr|nn1u l.
perhaps, the most complete university
III the strict sense Of The term that the
country contains.
But how has the agricultural depart
mcnt, the very "lca,lug object" for
which Cornell was fouDdCd, n0amshcd?
According to the catalogue OF 1886 :.
out OF S29 studcnt5 there were only 81
students OF agriculture. Tho senior class
OF y had only one Studying agriculture: :
ITO lunlor OF lij, only Z; the sophoc,orc
OF l'S, only 3; the freshman of }23, only
| 10; and then ) special students, making
out the 81. We see then, in an ipstitu-
lon IKE Cornell, founded originally
manly MS al agricultural college, with
an endowment such rs few other insti-
tut'ons III the land possess, and the pct
ot tue great State OF New York how the
agricultural department fails to accom-
/ push tho purpose for which il was
! founded.
! believe We would find approximately
the same stnt" oI tiinge with Fl! ia ri
cultural nnucXcs in tie country. [, is
I only the agricultural COLLEGES that arc
separate ana apurt from uthcr lust ,tu-
TONS, such rs in Michigan, in Kansas,
and more recently in Mississippi, that
we tind properly fulfilling the purposes
/ Tor which they were founded Can we,
then, III South Carolina, reasonably hone
to change this state OF fncts, ana mako a
hourishlDg agricultural annex i'll con
hectoh WIN tEc state University? Can
we hTpe 10 succeed where Cornell has
i"''o"'
sd. undertakes to r,lUtc lIr.
thomas s estimate of the proportion of
the State taxes paid bJ the farmers.
! presume we have mo- ovoct 1o,,
{ either in the comptroljnr manor,I,s ('IIin1
on clscw here, 10 show The nvnrt s,,l,,nt
OF the burden of taxation bnrnn Nv thH
/ farmers or any o,hcr ono class mi :. 80
! perhaps, well 'that we shouId nnt Lovn
/ But | would remark, in the FIRST rlorc
! that the S76G,3l2 State tayrq lnpe ,,,t ~,
auy means represent the entire tov rni,,
by the people of the State. Thrv hnyn
in addition to pay county. township md
municipal taxes, and here tbcv ok no
assistance from railroads or Dh6sphatc
royalties. These presume were i'm.
cludcd ~ Mr.. Thomas's estimate, In
the L AZ place, insist that sllc farmers
pay indirectly very considerable pro.
/ portion bo,h OF the railroad tax and the
! phosphate royalty. do not know TO
what extent the price of land phogpbntns.
used chiefly by our farmers, may De
affected bv tic ROYALTY ON water Mos.
pilates, which, / believe, are mostly
shipped outside the State.
But il viii bo romomhor,a u,o.
ycry long since whnn Co,,, 'iiT T;H,,' to'
PROPOSED to jncrras" tbis rn;"it,, P' - 'Ii-.,'
cure fund TO establish tho oaric,I+ $ ~ i,o
college, great outcrv woS C,t''"i", m'"T', i',,
these same opponcnfs n} tb" oniI"nn liz ~ ~
the ground tGat if Womb bn on Ii?I nI,fi?;I;nn U,'
al burden ON The farmer ~ ,,l,i'ii ,,a'i. =
seems TO suit them to roroot tb;s o,I
pretend Chut tbjs royalty is not noil ~, I',,